


better (when I'm with you)

by transit (dollyeo)



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Domesticity, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-10
Updated: 2017-09-10
Packaged: 2018-12-26 01:39:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12048645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dollyeo/pseuds/transit
Summary: "Who says I got you anything?" Wonwoo teases. "I could have spent the whole time making dinner.""You would have burned the house down," Soonyoung informs him. "You almost did, remember, back when we were in senior year and--"Wonwoo kisses him, just to shut him up. He kisses him again, and again."Okay," Soonyoung amends, sounding breathless when he pulls away for air. "You can make eggs. But just eggs.""What if I decide to expand my repertoire to noodles?" Wonwoo asks."I don't even need to put it in my mouth to know I'm gonna hate it," says Soonyoung, sounding exactly like he did the first time he gave Wonwoo a blowjob and tried to swallow instead of spitting. What an asshole."Why did I marry you again?" Wonwoo, not for the first time, wonders.





	better (when I'm with you)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [wandr](https://archiveofourown.org/users/wandr/gifts).



> dani, thank you so much for giving me a chance to work with my otp ♥ I enjoyed writing this a lot (cries at the burgeoning word count), and hope you enjoy reading it too :D
> 
> this is pretty much based on an old domesticity fic meme with the following questions:  
> \- who cooks normally?  
> \- how often do they fight? most trivial thing they fight over?  
> \- what do they do when they’re away from each other?  
> \- nicknames for each other?  
> \- who is more likely to pay for dinner?  
> \- who steals the covers at night?  
> \- what would they get each other for gifts?  
> \- who kissed who first?  
> \- who made the first move?  
> \- who remembers things?  
> \- who started the relationship?  
> \- who cusses more?  
> \- what would they do if the other one was hurt?  
> \- favorite non-sexual activity?  
> \- who leaves their stuff around?  
> \- who remembers to buy the milk?
> 
> other inspirations come from listening to like me better by lauv on loop, and this quote from pascal mercier's night train to lisbon: _We leave something of ourselves behind when we leave a place, we stay there, even though we go away. And there are things in us that we can find again only by going back there._
> 
> the dog and cat are lovingly headcanon-ed with @thelaziesthufflepuff and @allthatconfetti. PLEASE DIRECT ANY FLAILING AND SCREAMING ABOUT SOONWOO WITH FLUFFBALLS AT THEM....
> 
> tl;dr my notes are too long, happy reading!!!!

1.

 

 

It's nearly seven in the evening when Wonwoo gets home, and the only one that greets him when he opens the front door is the dog.

Soonyoung is in the bathroom, murdering some girl group song in the shower, and the cat is skulking off to god-knows-where. Wonwoo bends down to put his bag to the side, and gets on his knees to let the dog sniff and scuff her nose at his jaw, licking at the stubble. Not even married for half a year, and the honeymoon period's already over, he guesses. He feels like a burnt out, middle-aged man, even if he's barely in his thirties and hasn't quite figured his life out just yet.

"Pompom, stay still," he says, but it doesn't have much heat in it; Pompom cocks her head to the side like she's confused, and goes back to attacking his face with gusto. "Jeeze, now _I_ need a bath."

He's almost tempted to just strip down to his shorts, maybe join Soonyoung in the shower, but the last (and only) time he'd done that, Soonyoung had aimed the handheld showerhead at his chest and threatened bloody murder.

("I'm not getting a concussion in the shower," he'd said, then. "That's, like, the least sexy way to go, and a pain in the ass to explain at the ER."

"It'll save us time and money," Wonwoo had reasoned, then, trying to rub the water out of his lenses. "And anyway, aren't you supposed to be the adventurous one?")

In retrospect, it's probably why Soonyoung started locking the bathroom door after that, but they've had plenty of tiny arguments before and still live to see the day. Like, say, that time Soonyoung had brought home the dog for Wonwoo's birthday, and then a cat when the dog started ignoring him in favor of Wonwoo. Being in a relationship is all about compromise, after all.

He checks the fridge for any leftovers, and when he finds none, he calls their favorite bbimbap place for delivery. By the time the doorbell rings, Wonwoo's changed into his pajamas, put food out for the cat, and hand-fed Pompom while watching the news. Pompom's ears prick up, and she darts out of Wonwoo's lap and scurries to the front door, yapping like she's lost her head, the way she always does when strangers come and go. The cat squirms from under the couch, and prowls around before hissing at Pompom with the kind of disdain normally reserved for lesser beings like Wonwoo.

Wonwoo rolls his eyes and goes off to wash his hands and get his wallet.

"Wonwoo-yah," Soonyoung calls out, poking his head out of the shower, distracted by the noise. "What is it?"

"Dinner," Wonwoo yells back. He hands the poor delivery guy the exact payment, barricading Pompom away from the entrance. It's with some difficulty that he shoos her away enough for him to take the plastic bag and shut the door without further incident.

"Oh," says Soonyoung, after a while. Wonwoo hears him turn the shower off, and it doesn't take long before Soonyoung appears in sight, hair damp and towel loosely tucked around his waist. "What did you get?"

"Who says I got you anything?" Wonwoo teases. Soonyoung's nose wrinkles, and Wonwoo sets the plastic bag on the coffee table. He crosses the room and lets his palms rest against the curve of Soonyoung's waist, right before kissing the corner of his mouth hello. "I could have spent the whole time making dinner."

"You would have burned the house down," Soonyoung informs him. "You almost did, remember, back when we were in senior year and--"

Wonwoo kisses him, just to shut him up. He kisses him again, and again.

"Okay," Soonyoung amends, sounding breathless when he pulls away for air. "You can make eggs. But just eggs."

"What if I decide to expand my repertoire to noodles?" Wonwoo asks.

"I don't even need to put it in my mouth to know I'm gonna hate it," says Soonyoung, sounding exactly like he did the first time he gave Wonwoo a blowjob and tried to swallow instead of spitting. What an asshole.

"Why did I marry you again?" Wonwoo, not for the first time, wonders.

"Love is blind, deaf and dumb, Nonu-yah," says Soonyoung, and plants a kiss on his cheek before going off to change.

 

 

2.

 

 

The condo they've moved into is tinier than Wonwoo's parent's house, but more spacious than the cramped dorm room they'd shared with two other guys in uni and the studio apartment they'd lived in up until a few months ago. It's a couple of stations further away from Wonwoo's usual route, but it's closer to the entertainment agency Soonyoung works as a choreographer part-time for, and near enough to the train station and bus stops that it isn't too much of an issue.

"Besides, you need the exercise," Soonyoung tells him as he's brushing the cat's hair. The cat from hell -- Hoshi, lovingly named despite it being a spawn of Satan out to ruin Wonwoo's life -- is quietly perched on Soonyoung's lap, purring. "God knows you haven't hit the gym in a while."

"I get all the exercise I need," Wonwoo argues. "Sex is a perfectly effective means of burning calories."

"Your stamina is shit," says Soonyoung, bluntly, and Wonwoo swears the cat fixes him with a judgmental look before closing his eyes as Soonyoung rubs at the spot between his ears. "You're not as young as you think you are, grandpa."

"I'm a month younger than you," says Wonwoo. Soonyoung ignores him; they've both long since mastered the art of tuning each other out, before their conversations devolved into full-on spats. Once, an argument about the best shounen manga devolved into a cold war, and it had been weeks before Wonwoo started speaking to Soonyoung again. Not exactly the kind of thing anyone should fight about in college, but whatever.

"You should go jogging with me," says Soonyoung. "We can go right before my classes."

Soonyoung teaches modern dance in uni at 8 in the morning on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. That would mean having to wake up at dawn, just to subject himself to physical exertion. Wonwoo, not-so-privately, thinks he's insane, and just tells him to fuck off.

"Oh come on," says Soonyoung, rolling his eyes. "It will be fun. We can even take Pompom out for a walk."

"No thanks," says Wonwoo. "I'd rather sleep in on a weekend."

"You're so lazy," Soonyoung complains. "You and Hoshi are way too alike."

"I'm nothing like him," says Wonwoo, flatly. The cat opens one eye and makes a face that Wonwoo _swears_ speaks volumes about how little he thinks of Wonwoo, too.

"You really are," Soonyoung coos. He bends to nuzzle his cheek against Hoshi's face, and Hoshi purrs, despite himself. "Aren't you, sweetie?"

Sometimes Wonwoo doesn't know if Soonyoung's talking to him, or the cat. In between fondly calling him a dork, or a nerd, or an idiot, Soonyoung sometimes slips in all the cloying, sugary-sweet petnames he _knows_ Wonwoo hates with a passion, things like honey pie, sweetheart, sugar plum, or even lemon meringue tart, but whenever Wonwoo calls him out on it, Soonyoung just looks at him like he's dumb and goes back to sneaking Hoshi bits of catnip. It drives Wonwoo insane.

"This is why Pompom is the only thing I care about in this house," says Wonwoo. "Come here, Pompom."

Pompom cranes her neck up from where it's been resting against Soonyoung's feet, and lays back down when it doesn't look like Wonwoo has any treats in hand, tempting enough to convince her to move.

"Traitor," says Wonwoo.

"You're just jealous they like me better," Soonyoung teases.

 _Yeah, well_ , Wonwoo thinks, watching the curve of Soonyoung's mouth lift up into a soft smile that makes him want to kiss it away, _they're not the only ones_.

 

 

3.

 

 

If you ask him, Wonwoo honestly can't remember a time when he wasn't in love with Soonyoung.

He'll blame it on age, when pressed, or on his life being very boring before he'd met the biggest headache in his life. "You were very insufferable," says Wonwoo, with a hand on Soonyoung's thigh while he's recounting -- for the nth time -- the story of how he and Soonyoung started out. "I don't know why I even said yes when you asked me out on a date."

" _You--_ " Soonyoung splutters, turning pink. His mouth opens and closes, gaping, and Wonwoo hands him more wine to shut him up. "That's not how I remember it!"

"Finish your drink, honey," says Wonwoo. He turns to Soonyoung's co-workers, and gives them a conspiratorial grin. "He's really bad at telling stories, if you haven't noticed by now."

"You're lucky you're cute," says Soonyoung, flustered. "I would have dumped your ass a long time ago if you weren't."

"It's a very nice face," Junhui agrees.

Something in it makes Wonwoo burn, and not in a way that sparks desire. Junhui has a very nice face, too, perfectly symmetrical, the kind of face an idol or actor would have. It's an irrational thought to have, but Wonwoo can't help it -- it's a habit he has yet to break.

"He's also very shallow and superficial," says Wonwoo. He picks at the side dishes on his plate, and passes Soonyoung the ones he knows Soonyoung hates the most. "He's very weak to pretty faces."

"I've noticed," mutters Minghao, under his breath as he sips his tea. Beside him, Junhui is laughing, but it's not unkind.

"He's not that bad," says Junhui. "Sure, Soonyoung gets distracted by bright and shiny things--"

"I'm _right here_ ," says Soonyoung.

"-- and he plays favorites with the trainees--"

"Oh my god," says Soonyoung, slumping lower in his seat.

"-- but he's a pretty good guy, all in all," Junhui finishes, looking simultaneously endearing and smug at the same time. "It's why a lot of the younger kids really like him."

"Oh?" Wonwoo asks. He squeezes Soonyoung's knee, tightly. "Should I be worried?"

"I'm _married_ , not a cradle robber," says Soonyoung. The band around his finger glints, and it fills Wonwoo with a strange sense of relief that leaves him unsettled.

And because Wonwoo is a masochistic idiot that deflects instead of internalizing things in the moment, he pushes on.

"I don't know," says Wonwoo. "You _do_ have a thing for celebrities..."

"I swear, if you don't shut up, I'm divorcing you for Shinee," says Soonyoung.

"I wouldn't be surprised if you do," says Wonwoo, keeping his tone light. Soonyoung laughs, but it sounds off, unlike him -- it even makes Junhui raise his eyebrows and Minghao fix Wonwoo with a stare so reminiscent of Hoshi that Wonwoo wishes he'd never said anything at all.

Wonwoo ends up footing the bill, but the gap between them in bed that night makes it feel like it's not enough. He looks at Soonyoung's back, strained and unyielding, a sight he hasn't seen in a long, long while.

Wonwoo's made a lot of promises, over the years he's known Soonyoung. One of them is to never go to bed angry, and he knows Soonyoung's just waiting. Wonwoo doesn't make a lot of promises, especially when he knows they're ones he can't keep.

He's trying, though.

"Are you still upset?" He whispers into the quiet of the room, the only sound coming from the low hum of the airconditioner and Pompom growling in her sleep.

"Yeah," says Soonyoung, after a moment. "I can't even look at you right now."

Wonwoo touches his nape, and Soonyoung stiffens. He sighs. "I'm sorry," he says. His thumb pads against the goosebumps along Soonyoung's skin, and when he inches closer, he lets his lips trace its tracks, lingering. "I'm an idiot."

"You are," says Soonyoung, and his voice sounds watery, like he's close to crying. It's like they're twenty again and fighting over that girl in Wonwoo's econ class that keeps flirting with him, or twenty-five and arguing about the TA in Soonyoung's class that doesn't know how to take no for an answer.

Funny, how they're so much older now, but still unlearning things they'd thought they had under control.

"I took it too far," says Wonwoo. He closes his eyes. Presses a kiss to the back of Soonyoung's head, breathing him in. "It was supposed to be a joke."

"You're the least funny person I know," says Soonyoung.

It's true. Wonwoo's never been able to make a joke. The first time Soonyoung had asked him out, he'd looked flushed, embarrassed, like he didn't know what to do with himself. He'd been the most confident guy Wonwoo had known, and yet here he was, looking as awkward as Wonwoo felt every day of his life. And Wonwoo, then -- he wanted to say yes, wanted to take Soonyoung into his arms and hold him with the same bone-crushing relief that he'd felt, wanted to kiss Soonyoung so badly his hands were shaking and his teeth couldn't stop chattering.

He'd laughed, instead, and Soonyoung had looked so wounded in that moment that Wonwoo wondered why or how, sometimes, they were together now, when they were so bad at communicating with each other that it hurt too much sometimes, like a phantom ache that twinged with each reminder.

"I love you," he tells Soonyoung instead. It sounds weak in his mind, insufficient, but Soonyoung must still find something salvageable in it, because he just sags against him, like there's a weight off his shoulders, his chest.

Wonwoo holds him the entire night, and he doesn't say anything about the dampness of the pillow, or how Soonyoung hogs all the covers the whole time. Not for the first time, he thinks that Soonyoung deserves someone that makes him happy more, that makes him laugh instead of cry hot, angry tears he has to stifle with the back of his hand. He's selfish, though. So, so selfish.

He makes Soonyoung half-burnt eggs, the next morning, and the smile Soonyoung gives him is wobbly, tight-lipped, but it makes Wonwoo breathe easy the first time in hours.

 

 

4.

 

 

"We should go on a trip for your birthday," says Wonwoo, while Soonyoung's in the middle of choreographing positions for a 13-member boy group that Wonwoo's honestly not sure if it will work out. "Like, a week away from the city, just the two of us."

"Can't," says Soonyoung, sticking his tongue out in concentration. Wonwoo's eyes track the peek of his tongue, the way it wets his lower lip and leaves it spit-slick, shining. "The kids are debuting around then. I'll have to fix their choreo for the music shows in case they wanna switch it up."

"My birthday, then," says Wonwoo. He fidgets in place, adjusting the laptop in his lap, and Pompom whines at the movement but stays firmly ensconced between the sofa and Wonwoo's side. "We can go to the beach."

"You hate the beach," says Soonyoung. "You get sunburnt easily and you always forget to use sunblock."

"Okay," says Wonwoo, closing the tab on Jeju. "How about a hot spring trip, then?"

"You just want me helpless and naked in a pool of water," says Soonyoung, dryly.

Wonwoo just shrugs.

"Pervert," says Soonyoung.

"All I want as a birthday gift is to peel a yukata off of you for once in my life," says Wonwoo, eyes already glazing over. "Is that so bad?"

"I'm not even gonna say anything about the kind of porn you've been watching lately," says Soonyoung, shaking his head. He looks at a dozing Pompom, and then at Hoshi playing with the tassels of the curtain, intent on shredding every bit of furniture he can get his claws on. "What are we gonna do about the kids, though?"

Ever since his older sister got married and had a kid, the pregnancy fever must have transferred onto Soonyoung and now Soonyoung keeps calling the cat and the dog their kids, never mind that he and Wonwoo are the least fit parental units in the world, not at this age. They might get better in the future, but for now they keep leaving their stuff all over the floor, and can barely feed themselves if not for the magic of takeaway. They have no hope whatsoever.

"We can get Bohyuk to look after them," says Wonwoo.

Soonyoung raises an eyebrow, ever the skeptic when it comes to Wonwoo's spontaneous ideas. Normally, it's the reverse, but sometimes Wonwoo just feels a little more reckless, a little more like Soonyoung's rubbed off on him in more ways than one.

"Does Bohyuk know you're volunteering him for this?" He asks.

"I'll text him later," Wonwoo lies. Soonyoung glares at him. "What? I will!"

"You'd better," says Soonyoung. He goes back to his unintelligible notes, like it's some puzzle even he can't decipher anymore. "I don't wanna hear Bohyuk complaining to me again about how you bullied him into doing something he didn't even want to do just because you used the older brother card."

"As if you don't do it to your brother either," he mutters.

Soonyoung glances up at him. "What was that?"

"Nothing," says Wonwoo, innocently, and opens up another tab to check out flights. "Now, how do you feel about Akita?"

 

 

5.

 

 

"I can't believe this is happening to me."

Soonyoung breaks out into laughter, and the sound is cracked, muted through the line.

"Don't be a baby," says Soonyoung. His smile looks grainy through the video call, but he looks so exhausted Wonwoo just wants to stroke his cheek and hold him. "It's only gonna be for a few more hours. You know how these budget airlines are like."

"You were supposed to be here hours ago," Wonwoo mumbles, sinking back down his futon and glaring at his phone. "I hate your job."

"My kids are great," says Soonyoung. "Is it so bad they turned out popular?"

It is when they wind up canceling earlier plans and chipping off a day or two in Wonwoo's itinerary to officially sex his husband up as much as he can while they're both on vacation leave, but Soonyoung doesn't need to hear that. Wonwoo sighs and opens up the browser on his laptop, minimizing the window showing Soonyoung's face.

"What have you been doing the whole time?" Soonyoung asks. "Trashed our room yet? Gotten any freebies from the manager?"

"I watched free, _unblocked_ Japanese porn online," says Wonwoo. "It's been great so far."

Soonyoung whistles. "High school me would have been so jealous."

"Get here faster, then," Wonwoo grumbles. "My wrist already hurts."

"You're so gross," says Soonyoung, with a laugh that sounds a little breathy. He says it like he's not the most perverted one out of the two of them -- Wonwoo has receipts of his entire history folder. They've shared the same porn before. Wonwoo's kissed him through the aftershocks and wrung enough orgasms out of him enough that boundaries don't exist anymore, except, apparently, shower sex. He's still more than a little peeved about that.

"I'm kidding," says Wonwoo. "I've been playing Overwatch the whole time."

"All that nature around you, and you can't even take a dip in the water," says Soonyoung, shaking his head.

"I don't wanna," says Wonwoo. _Not without you_ , he thinks, but doesn't say.

Soonyoung seems to get it, though. His expression softens into a smile, and Wonwoo thumbs at the spot on the screen where Soonyoung's cheek is supposed to be and rubs at the glass.

"I miss you," says Wonwoo.

"I miss you more, you have no idea," says Soonyoung. He blows a kiss at him on his phone, and Wonwoo catches it with his palm, lets his fingers curl into a fist to keep it close to his heart. "I'll see you in a few hours, okay? Try to have some fun without me."

He ends up sleeping the rest of the evening, and only wakes up when Soonyoung presses a kiss to the tip of his ear to wake him good morning.

 

 

6.

 

 

The first time Soonyoung kissed Wonwoo, they'd both been drunk, playing seven minutes of heaven at some party. Wonwoo doesn't remember much about it, but he does remember what happens afterwards: the stumbling, clumsy crawl to an empty room, the urgent need to tug off each other's clothes, fumbling and frenzied, the creak of the headboard and the litany of _yes, yes, god, Wonwoo, yes_ that spilled out from Soonyoung's mouth with every thrust.

Wonwoo remembers the first time he kissed Soonyoung sober, though: how he'd framed Soonyoung's splotchy, teary face and pressed their lips together in a chaste kiss that left him shaking harder than when he'd tried to fuck him into a stranger's mattress.

In some ways, Wonwoo can't imagine them growing out of the eagerness, the desperation. It's in how Soonyoung has his legs wrapped around his waist at the edge of the pool, stones digging into his arms the entire time Wonwoo fucks into him, drunk on sake and heady with want. How they'd barely even gotten the sash around his waist off and left the robe half-on, sleeves pooling around his elbows and hem hiked up around his waist. How Wonwoo can't take his mouth off of Soonyoung's mouth, his jaw, his neck long enough to hear the stuttered starts and stops of a moan.

Beyond this, he'll remember letting Soonyoung nap on his thigh as he thumbs through a magazine he can't read, though, when Soonyoung complains about how he's too rough and the water too hot hours afterward. He remembers feeding him bits of the choicest, tastiest parts of sashimi, and understanding finally, what his mother means when she lets him and Bohyuk have the fattiest parts of meat and says, "It makes my heart feel full when I see how happy you two are, when you eat." He remembers kissing Soonyoung, time and again, without intent, without need.

"Do you think we can go up the mountain tomorrow?" Soonyoung mumbles, sleepily.

"Sure," says Wonwoo, even if he hates climbing up mountains the most.

The smile that blossoms on Soonyoung's mouth makes it worth it, he thinks.

 

 

7.

 

 

Wonwoo remembers reading something about how people leave bits and pieces of themselves in the places they go to. On their flight back to Seoul, he wonders what it is he leaves behind in Akita, or what he's left before, in their old apartment, or in that bed he'd started something in with Soonyoung. If he's even left anything there at all that's worth it.

He holds Soonyoung's hand the entire time, the rings around their fingers muted in the light. It's enough.

 

 

8.

 

 

"Wonwoo-yah," Soonyoung calls out, ducking his head out from where he's been rummaging through the fridge to clean out the gunk, "we're all out of milk!"

"What?" Wonwoo yells, taking off his headphones and pausing his game.

"We need more milk!" Soonyoung yells back. "Can you go to the convenience store and get some more?"

"You're lactose intolerant, how could we already be out of milk," Wonwoo complains.

The cat brushes past him on its way out of the kitchen, and Wonwoo swears it looks smug as it struts with drops of milk on its whiskers. Figures.

"What have I said about not feeding the cat human milk again," says Wonwoo, as he leans against the doorframe to frown at Soonyoung.

"We're out of bacon bits, too, and Pompom smells like oil and fried meat," says Soonyoung, returning his gaze. "I wonder who's been fattening her up this whole time."

"That's not fair," says Wonwoo. "Pompom has _puppy dog eyes_. Hoshi is just evil."

"Just because he keeps scratching at you doesn't mean he wants to kill you. We've talked about this, Wonwoo," says Soonyoung, shaking his head. He pulls out an expired bottle of pickle relish and makes a face. "Why'd we buy this again?"

"I think that's from my mom," says Wonwoo. He picks up a banana from the countertop and starts peeling it. "I hate that cat so much."

"That's what you said about dogs before we got Pompom."

"Pompom's not a dog," says Wonwoo. "She's my _child_."

"You're not supposed to play favorites, Nonu," says Soonyoung. "What if we actually get kids one of these days and you wind up singling one of them out?"

In between the daily grind of small talk and little nothings, there are some things Soonyoung says that still keep taking Wonwoo aback. There's the future in there, constantly changing, but with a lasting permanence that Wonwoo reads in the ring on Soonyoung's finger, the way he looks at Wonwoo like he's the funniest person in the whole world, like just looking at him makes him smile.

"You'll always be my favorite," says Wonwoo, one of the most honest things he's told Soonyoung his entire life. "I love you the most, after all."

It takes a lot to make Soonyoung feel embarrassed as the years go on, but Soonyoung's ears turn pink, spreading up to his neck.

"What are you saying?" Soonyoung splutters. He turns away and hides his face back into the refrigerator, where the contents do nothing to cool his skin. "You're getting sentimental in your age, old man."

"We're only thirty, you know," says Wonwoo. "And you're still older than me."

Soonyoung shakes his head, and Wonwoo cackles, biting down on the banana. He gives Pompom bits and scraps of it, when she comes waddling into the kitchen, and tries to feed Hoshi some too, when he wanders back in, only to be rebuffed. Hoshi plops down on the counter, though, right next to Wonwoo's elbow, and his tail flicks back and forth before curling around Wonwoo's hand, quiet and calm even when Wonwoo strokes the top of his head.

When Soonyoung's finished cleaning the refrigerator and is scrolling through his phone for delivery menus at eight in the evening, Wonwoo comes to realize that maybe he doesn't need to have everything figured out, not when he's got his tiny, makeshift family around him. It feels a little like his life's coming together, like this, and it's not perfect, no, but it's close.

"Thank you for marrying me," says Wonwoo, apropos of nothing.

Soonyoung looks at him with something soft in his eyes, almost unreadable in the dim light, but Wonwoo's been with him long enough to read him like an open book. It's easy.

"You're welcome," says Soonyoung, touching his cheek. "But you're still buying Hoshi some canned tuna and more milk."


End file.
